Firefighters work to free a child’s finger that was stuck in a metal pipe. (Photo source: FLFD)

“I was trying to keep it as a joke because I didn’t want to scare him,” said Irelys Uzcatguy, Hernandez’s mother. “We were joking about him having nine more other fingers.”

Firefighters pose with a boy who had his finger freed from a pipe. (Photo source: FLFD)

Losing a finger wasn’t an option for firefighters. They worked for two hours, to pull apart the stubborn metal with hand tools, finally opening up just enough space to free the bloody finger.

The fire department said it took two hours because fire fighters couldn’t use metal electrical tools. Metal on metal creates friction and could have burned Hernandez. Fire fighters used hand tools and a lot of elbow grease to free the pinky.